DarthPuppy wrote:I think the present price point is viable thanks to incentives. The ICE Golf starts at $20k. The e-Golf starts at $29k. With the federal and California incentives, the e-Golf can be had for a net $19k. And then you have all of the savings of not having to buy gas, do oil changes, longer lasting brakes, etc. And my commute would benefit greatly from HOV access if that is still available.

The flip side is the likely fast depreciation. But that only really bites you if you sell it or it gets into an accident and the insurance sticks you with a small check. Granted, one could reasonably expect an ICE Golf to run 10-20 years and go 200k+ miles. So we aren't apples-apples. In theory, the e-golf should be able to do that too, just with replacing the batteries, which is probably less than the gas, oil changes, etc. accumulate to by the time the battery needs to be changed. However, as noted elsewhere on this forum, people are reluctant to invest in batteries for a number of reasons.

The above of course assumes VW doesn't jack the price up on the 2017.

The % of potential customers who will qualify to get the full incentives, especially the federal tax credit, will decrease once the price drops below $30k. There was an article a while back at IEVS, GCR or one of the other EV websites which said that the size of the potential market doubles (or halves) for every $5k change in the price up or down. I believe all the companies selling PEVs have factored incentives into their MSRPs, and I expect that once the incentives go away the MSRPs will drop considerably. I imagine they hope they'll be able to make a profit at the lower price by then.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

At the upcoming Paris Motor Show, Volkswagen claims that it will reveal a prototype of a long-range electric car that will eventually be sold for approximately the price of a conventional, gas-powered Golf. . . .

According to VW, the planned electric car will have a 300-mile range (likely NEDC, so more like 200ish miles in the real world/EPA) and it will be able to charge in 15 minutes or so. The car will reportedly be Golf-based, which likely means that it’ll ride on the same MEB platform as the next-generation Golf, but the similarities may end there. . . .

The company is saying that the on-sale target date for this e-Golf is 2025. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

LeftieBiker wrote:I'll bet it still doesn't have a heated steering wheel.

Which IMO is a deal breaker! Coming from a cold climate I'd trade the heated seats for heated steering wheel any day, both are even better Got to give credit to Nissan for that, generally a heated steering wheel is only available on top level cars and even that only on top trim models, Leafs get it even on a lowly model like my S

As much as I love my heated steering wheel, it is certainly not a deal breaker for me. The issue I have with this car actually has nothing to do with the car itself but the infrastructure. Today there are already enough CCS QC in the right places for me to make my long-distance trips in a Bolt (thanks to Hannaford in Albany!) Not so in a 125 mile eGolf. But if CCS were much more common, I would gladly deal with the few extra stops per year for the nicer looking (IMO) and presumably nicer driving eGolf (TBD, but the lower/sportier form factor suggests it)

I on the other hand don't really need a 200 mile EV. I need to be able to travel 70 miles in frigid weather without worrying about heat, and 100 miles in Summer with the A/C running. I would also very much like to be able to use QC, either kind, and since my local Hannaford (Troy) now has a station with both, it doesn't matter which one. I do, however, absolutely need a heated steering wheel. The circulation in my hands is so bad that when I'm showering, if I stick my hands in first they will tell me the water is warm even when it's still cool. They generate no heat to spare, so I have to use heated gloves on my bike. I'm not going to go through having to wear and then recharge those big gloves just to drive my car.

2013 "Brilliant Silver" SV with Premium and no QC, a 2009 Vectrix VX-1 W/18 Leaf modules, and 3 EZIP E-bicycles.PLEASE don't PM me with Leaf questions. Just post in the topic that seems most appropriate.

I really liked the eGolf I test drove back in 2015. And 124 mile range just clears my minimum range requirements once I allow for battery degradation over a few years. This will allow me to replace an ICE and we would then be a 2 BEV family. Now I just got to save enough pennies to be able to pay for it.